PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Domagoj Kovacic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that James Johnson was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Kovacic
vs
Johnson

175 cm
24
165 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
19
155 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Domagoj Kovacic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, James Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Frank Dennis and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kovacic closes the distance and clinches.
Johnson stops a takedown attempt from Kovacic.
Kovacic lands an elbow just above Johnson 's eye.

It looks like James Johnson has been cut.
Johnson stops a takedown attempt from Kovacic.
Johnson gets underhooks to prevent Kovacic's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Domagoj Kovacic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kovacic drops down looking for an ankle pick but Johnson pulls his leg out and moves away.
Kovacic scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Johnson lands an overhand right.
Kovacic wants to slow Johnson down by chopping away at his legs.
Kovacic closes the distance looking to clinch
and Johnson counters with a big head kick but Kovacic shrugs it off.
That kick from Kovacic tenderised Johnson's leg. Johnson is trying to keep his angry face on.
Kovacic dives in and grabs Johnson's left leg, looking for a takedown. Johnson pushes down on Kovacic's head and hops out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovacic turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Kovacic gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Johnson wants to get back to striking at distance but Kovacic won't allow it.

Kovacic breaks the clinch.
Johnson tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Kovacic swivels and escapes.

Kovacic closes the distance and clinches.

Kovacic breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kovacic swats away the attempt to clinch by Johnson.
Kovacic throws a combination that misses
and Johnson counters with a thumping low kick.
A head kick by Kovacic misses
enabling Johnson to counter with a crisp jab.
Domagoj Kovacic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kovacic lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Kovacic tries to clinch but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch but Kovacic swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Johnson throws a nice head kick!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a combination. Kovacic tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kovacic tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Johnson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Johnson moves out of range of the leg kick from Kovacic.
Kovacic tries to clinch but Johnson moves away
and Johnson counters with a thumping low kick.
A head kick misses from Johnson.
Kovacic throws a head kick that Johnson semi-blocks.
Kovacic is breathing heavily.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Kovacic.
Kovacic tries for a takedown but Johnson sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Kovacic tries to clinch but Johnson moves out of range.
Kovacic looks for the body kick but Johnson saw that one coming.
Kovacic tries to clinch up.
Kovacic tries to clinch there but Johnson circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovacic chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Johnson buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Kovacic doesn't manage to clinch there - Johnson circles away.
Kovacic misses with a combination

and Johnson counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Johnson.
Johnson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Johnson scoring with punches to the head and body.

Johnson stands and steps away. Kovacic gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Johnson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kovacic pulls out of a head kick attempt.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kovacic throws a leg kick
and Johnson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovacic looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Kovacic connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Kovacic thows a leg kick but Johnson checks it
and Johnson counters with a body kick.
Kovacic fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Johnson avoids it really well and circles away.
Johnson darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kovacic shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Johnson but Johnson pushes him off and we're back to square one.
The fight stays on the outside here - Johnson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Domagoj Kovacic will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on James Johnson's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Kovacic fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Johnson avoids it really well and circles away.
Domagoj Kovacic is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kovacic feints and then cracks Johnson's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Johnson down.
Kovacic shoots in for a double leg but Johnson sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Johnson lands a nice looking kick to the body. Kovacic takes a step back to recover.

Kovacic gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Kovacic tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Johnson just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Domagoj Kovacic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Johnson jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kovacic walks away with a smile on his face. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Johnson closes the distance and clinches up with Kovacic, looking for a takedown. Johnson pushes Kovacic against the cage but Kovacic circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kovacic feints and then cracks Johnson's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Johnson down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovacic tries to clinch there but Johnson circles away.
Kovacic connects with a high kick.
Johnson swats away the attempt to clinch by Kovacic.
Johnson circles away from the clinch attempt.
Kovacic tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Johnson makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Kovacic really felt that one!
Kovacic throws a leg kick
and Johnson counters with a nice leg kick.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Kovacic is defended easily by Johnson.
Kovacic throws a leg kick but Johnson moved away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kovacic looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Johnson's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Johnson throws a head kick but Kovacic moves out of range.
Kovacic fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Johnson has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Kovacic shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Johnson defends it nicely.

Johnson closes the distance and clinches.
Kovacic using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Kovacic holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Johnson stops a takedown attempt from Kovacic.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovacic has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Kovacic tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Johnson holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Johnson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Johnson taking a breather.
Johnson wants to break the clinch but can't.

Johnson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kovacic wants to clinch up but Johnson keeps it at a distance.
Kovacic tried to score with a low kick but Johnson checks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Nice sprawl there from Johnson as Kovacic shoots in.
Johnson misses with a series of wild punches.
Kovacic throws a low kick, looking for Johnson's leg but Johnson calmly moves out of range.
Johnson misses with an attempted mid kick.
Kovacic tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Johnson shoots for a takedown but Kovacic saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Kovacic gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Kovacic breaks the clinch.
Kovacic is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Domagoj Kovacic dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on James Johnson's cut.
That's time! Kovacic's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Kovacic cracks the inside of Johnson's front leg.
Kovacic closes the distance looking to clinch
and Johnson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kovacic shoots in but no luck this time.
Kovacic thows a body kick. Johnson tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Johnson fails with a takedown attempt.
Kovacic fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Johnson slips a jab and a cross from Kovacic.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson is looking to clinch.
Kovacic fails in his attempt to clinch.
Johnson circles away from the clinch attempt

and Johnson counters by clinching up.
Johnson wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Kovacic lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.

Kovacic breaks from the clinch.
Johnson chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Kovacic can pounce on him.
Kovacic lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Johnson has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Kovacic.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Kovacic. Those never looked like landing.
Kovacic pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Kovacic clinches with his opponent.
A head punch on the inside from Kovacic fails to land.

Kovacic manages to break the clinch.
Kovacic connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch but Kovacic swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Kovacic takes a head kick and keeps coming.
A head kick misses from Kovacic.
Kovacic lands a high kick!
Johnson throws a series of punches but Kovacic avoids them all with ease.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A nice inside leg kick there by Kovacic. That's going to slow Johnson down.
Kovacic lands with a nice body kick.
Kovacic throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
No luck for Johnson with that takedown attempt.
Johnson on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Kovacic shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Johnson defends it nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Domagoj Kovacic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A head kick by Johnson misses
and Kovacic counters with a big head kick but Johnson shrugs it off.
Domagoj Kovacic is winning the standup battle so far.
Kovacic tries to clinch but Johnson moves out of range.
Kovacic with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Johnson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovacic fails in his attempt to clinch.
Kovacic throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Kovacic scores with a one two! Johnson had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Kovacic tries a head kick but it misses.

Kovacic pushes Johnson up against the cage in a clinch.
The referee calls for Kovacic to work.
Johnson is trying to push Kovacic away but Kovacic has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kovacic connects with a nasty looking knee right to Johnson's face.
Kovacic has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Johnson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Domagoj Kovacic showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kovacic, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:28
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Domagoj Kovacic!